Freedom of the Seas Cruise Review by iownafatcat: Disappointing service at times

Freedom of the Seas

Overall Member Rating

Disappointing service at times

Sail Date:
February 2012
Destination:
Western Caribbean
Embarkation:
Other

Fifth cruise with Royal Caribbean and have found a serious degradation in the dining room experience. Roast Duck cooked to leather shoe quality, brick-like pastries, and assistant waiters tapping me on the shoulder to interrupt as I converse with other guests at my table. Our table mates were wonderful and we truly enjoyed their company but we avoided the dining room and chose the always wonderful Windjammer buffet. The food selection is outstanding as is the taste and quality of each item.

Also, the chaos we experienced when trying to connect with our shore excursions was shocking. We had a particularly troubling time in Jamaica and Grand Cayman; a throng of madness as everyone had no idea where to go or when. The shore representatives seem disorganized and overwhelmed and not terribly anxious to answer the same question a hundred times. If I pay Royal Caribbean for an excursion, then I expect a Royal Caribbean Rep to walk me to my embarkation popint or at least make sure More
that all is well. Making things worse, is the fact that 4 cruise ships are in the same port at the same time and ALL are looking for their excursion! These cruise lines have no problem taking our money but make little effort to see that their service meets their hype.

Back to the ship - thankfully for me, there is an "adult only" pool area on the ship, but there is no one making sure that the kids keep out. I (as well as other fed-up adults) threw several kids out of the pool and off the lounge chairs - a responsibility that should fall to the cruise line. We will probably cruise again - but not sure if the Freedom will be our choice. One small point for those of you who do not like the Starbucks type coffee - Royal Caribbean serves Seattle's Best which tastes too much like Charbucks for me. I will bring my own instant in the future. A week without a good ole cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee was almost too long :-) Less

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Cabin review: PR8623 Promenade Stateroom

8623 is a Promenade Stateroom overlooking the shopping mall. It's nice from the perspective that you have a view of something without paying the fees to have a window or a balcony. If we want to see the outside, then we go outside. The Promenade room is cozy, but is almost to small to get around in comfortably. It is located far enough from elevators to be quiet yet close enough to have a reasonable walk. This location, however, is far from the center of the Promenade which makes watching the parades difficult as you are way on one end. Another issue that the sound quality of the TV on the FOX channel only was terrible. This is my second Royal Caribbean ship with that problem - wonder if this is a political statement on the part of RC or just technicians who can't clear static.

Port and Shore Excursions

Snorkeling

We took the 3 Reef Snorkel Trip on the Yellow Rose with divemaster David. This was the BEST of all 4 excursions we took. The dive boat was tied up close to the cruise ship, we were taken to 3 separate snorkel spots and had a great time. The only criticism I have is that there are so many other snorkel/dive boats as well as private boats out there, it gets a little crowded on the water. If we ever take this Western Caribbean cruise again, this in one excursion we will do again.

Absolute chaos trying to find where our excursion meet up point was. A stifling bus ride to a plain old beach (Chukka) and a strangely interesting Jerk Chicken lunch experience. Never had Jerk Chicken before and was concerned about the cleanliness and presentation of the meal - but it was pretty good and I did not die :-)

Beach Break

We took a boat tour of the beachfront properties with a narrated explanation of all things Grand Cayman. It was informative but kind of short and we were dropped off at 7 mile beach along with about 50 million other tourists. I didn't realize that we had to jump on a bus to get back. I felt the experience was overpriced and a relatively poor value until I ordered a Pina Colada at the Tiki Bar and got a plastic cup for TEN DOLLARS. The beach had lots of coral to negotiate, but once past it, the snorkeling wasn't too bad.

Short walk from the pier to the sheltered experience of Labadee (owned by the cruise lines). We took a boat to the Sandbar Experience and had a pretty good time. Slight confusion when trying to find the sign up spot but nothing like the horror to come at subsequent ports.